Effects of humidity and temperature on a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack

Various operation conditions such as fuel and oxidant humidity and stack temperature were evaluated in order to improve the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Under the experimental environment, the resultant data were obtained with a stack of 10 cm2 active area and 10 cells. The humidity was strongly dependent on the temperature of anode and cathode as well as stack temperature change. Compared to anode humidity, the stack performance of PEMFC was more affected by cathode humidity and increased with increasing cathode humidity. In the viewpoint of stack performance, the stack temperature was less influenced than humidity.